Lights! Camera! Action!
by Velnica
Summary: Syaoran & the gang found a digital camera in one of the world they went through. Watanuki helped and shenanigans ensued. Sakura photo count: ever increasing.
1. Chapter 1

There was a slight whooshing noise as Soel opened her mouth to establish the cross-dimension link. Within moments Kimihiro's image appeared on the wall of their current living room. The boy (no, man, Syaoran corrected) sported a happy smile that always veneers the deep loneliness he carried. Syaoran's heart clenched everytime he saw his twin, but they have chosen their paths and that's what they must strive forward to.

"Good evening Kimihiro, how is the shop?"

"Ah, Syaoran, the shop is going well. There hasn't been any rough customers lately. I did have the nice opportunity to meet a couple of cute part-time workers though. They've been doing a few jobs for me but it was the first time I saw them face to face." Kimihiro's speech always changed whenever he spoke with Syaoran. To him, Kimihiro is family, regardless of the distance that the wizard enforced on everyone around him.

"Nee Watanuki-kun, introduce us next time we come past the store. We need more photos to go into this album!" Fai piped in from behind Syaoran, his hand waving a shiny hardcover book dangerously close to Kurogane's head. The ninja grabbed the book from Fai's hand like a teacher would a naughty student and settled it on his own lap before getting back to gluing photos into it. The mage retaliated by pulling a glue stick out of thin air and brandishing it teasingly at Kurogane's face, which earned him a death glare and… did Kurogane just _lick the glue stick_? Fai's face was hidden from this angle but Syaoran swore that the man's ears had gone decidedly red all of a sudden.

"Oh my, I didn't realise you printed so much when you were here last? Is that a new volume already?" Watanuki stretched his neck trying to peek at the other two in the room whilst Syaoran shuffled aside slightly so the wizard could see better.

"Yes, yes! Soel has been sending some extra things to Larg for printing! Soel thinks there are some reeeeeeal gems in there that absolutely must be printed immediately!" The white manjuu talked animatedly through gaping mouth, a feat that still baffled Syaoran and Kurogane to this day.

"Yes, yes! Larg agrees with Soel! There were some really nice photos of Kurogane in there!" A yippie voice shot back from the other side of the connection. True enough a loud yell came from Kurogane, followed by Fai suddenly landing in front of Syaoran and positioning the boy as if he was a shield.

"When... Did... You... Get... THIS PHOTO!" The ninja was pointing at a shot of himself in one of their recent world, a place called Delphina where both males and females wore decidedly feminine clothing. It was of him standing with one of his trademark pensive looks, except that he was wearing a knee length black skirt that exposed his calves and flat feminine shoes. Watanuki burst out laughing.

"But Kuro-Sama... Your gaze was so intense like a stormy night. It's the gaze that makes millions of women and men swoon~ I had to capture it! Oh it received so much reblogs already on my Tumblr… Kuro-rin is an internet superstar!" Fai animatedly explained whilst unsuccessfully trying to hide himself behind the much shorter brunette.

"I hid that stupid camera for this exact reason! How did you manage to steal it?" Kurogane's face was getting redder by the second and Syaoran put his hands up in a peaceful gesture, which didn't seem to do much against the finger currently pointed accusingly at him - well at the blonde behind him rather - and the pair of red eyes that could be described as positively demonic. He was _so_ bailing if Kurogane lunged at Fai.

"It's Mokona's special super power! Mokona's eyes go _zuuuuuun _and then Mokona will suck the item through the air for safekeeping! It's one of Mokona's 108… Kyaaaaaa~~~! Syaoran help!" Kurogane had abandoned Fai and lunged for the manjuu instead, pulling her ears and pinching her cheeks hard . Watanuki's projection on the wall swung and blurred like a spotlight going haywire.

"Ku-Kurogane-san, please stop! I'm still talking to Kimihiro!" Syaoran tried to reason with Kurogane but flinched when the black clad man glared at him rather murderously. After a few extra swing Kurogane finally released Mokona's cheeks but kept her in a tight grasp by the ears.

"Just you watch manjuu, I know many ways to turn you into desserts." Mokona paled but Watanuki just kept laughing from the other side.

"And you, mage!" He pointed at the blonde's direction, "you will pay for… for that!" With that outburst he stomped back to where he sat before, grabbing the photo album and glaring at each photo he was sticking like it was an enemy. No one had noticed that he'd snuck the _skirt_ photo into his jacket pocket. Fai was definitely getting some divine punishment for that sneaky shot, more so now that he was sauntering back with that damn glue stick in his hand as if Kurogane hadn't just tried to murder him not five minutes ago.

"I'm glad that the enhanced battery and memory card had been of help, Syaoran." The projection settled again as Soel sat back down, rubbing her reddened cheeks tenderly.

"Ah yes, thank you so much for that. Now able to keep all our memories with us to view whenever we want. It really is a magical device!"

"I'm sure Sakura-chan thinks so too," Kimihiro replied with a grin. The brunette boy blushed pink and Fai snickered, telling Watanuki that the Sakura-count is now at three-thousand and twenty-six. Syaoran felt like his face would actually burst into flames with the rate his blush was intensifying.

"Ahaha, well, I have accepted the next pay installment for the battery and card recharge. Mokona, thank you for all the recipes you sent. Himawari-chan and Kohane-chan were most impressed. Your Instagram is really very impressive, I hope you don't mind if I share the recipes with Saiga-san."

"Kuro-daddy and Fai-mommy are soooo proud of Mokona's achievement! Her blog has more than ten-thousand followers already~! Mokona's recipes are always the top trending posts of the day! Nee, daddy, aren't you gonna say something about Mokona's milestone?" Fai poked Kurogane's cheek with the glue stick, earning him another glare and another (secret) punishment on the top of his list.

"I am NOT congratulating that sniveling, sly manjuu thief. What's a blog anyway?"

"Wahhh, Kuro-daddy isn't keeping up with his daughter's achievements!" Fai mocked cry as he dramatically draped himself over Kurogane. "To think that I had endlessly scoured the ends of the universe for means to finally bring our journey to the spotlight! Oh the things I do for my family!" He wailed loudly as Kurogane looked torn between putting his arm around Fai's shoulder or kicking him into the kerb. The mage had been doing a lot of research to see what the digital camera could do. Some worlds they arrived at did not have a similar device at all, but some did and Fai had been tinkering with his magic to see if he could upgrade the one that they had. So far his efforts had been rather successful and the man now acted like a walking talking technological dictionary.

Syaoran remembered that they had a camera back when he was a toddler, though compared to this one it only had a limited number of photos you could take and you couldn't even see the photos before they processed the films, much less send the photos to some kind of universal public archive. It was a thing that only rich people used and he didn't pay much attention to it. In hindsight he would have liked more photos of his family to keep him company in those years that he was alone, though it didn't matter now - the one that he kept in his chest pocket only featured him and the invisible ghosts of his parents.

Syaoran and Kimihiro chatted again for a while after that, with Fai and Kurogane jumping in intermittently when they weren't fighting over the layout of the photo album or Fai's mischievous teasing. They knew these chats were important to Syaoran and Watanuki both, and they loathed to interrupt. Syaoran was animatedly showing Kimihiro some selfies that they took since last they spoke, plus some archaeological finds that made the boy's eyes glimmer with excitement.

"Send my regards to Doumeki-kun, Kimihiro. Hopefully it won't be too long before we get to the shop again, it's been awhile." Syaoran smiled at his twin. Kimihiro just smiled that enigmatic smile and told them that it might be closer than they think before Mokona closed the connections, leaving Syaoran staring at the now white wall. He sat like that for a while, suddenly wishing that he had an instant connection back to Sakura too. Behind him Fai triumphantly lifted the finished album, ignoring Mokona's cries as she ran away from a very angry (again) Kurogane.

He fidgeted with the camera on his hand, turning on the Gallery view and flicking through their recent photos. This stretch of journey had been a rather long one indeed, thirty worlds and roughly two-hundred and eighty-nine days (Syaoran was never sure of time due to the different day length on each dimensions) but not once had they come across Clow, Kimihiro's shop or Piffle. The camera was already bursting with tons of new photos and he couldn't wait to print them all out. He could send some through Soel but when he was at the shop he could sneak out to print some of his favourite ones when no one was looking. Fondly he caressed the screen when Sakura's face came up. She had on a dress that Piffle Country's Tomoyo had made, couriered through the travellers. Fai had taken this photo on the roof of the Clow castle. The wind had dramatically unfurled the big ribbon around her waist and she was laughing as it threatened to blow away her hat too. The sunshine smile was beaming on her face and her eyes glimmered with happiness. Syaoran was so deep in memories that he didn't realise Fai sneaking up next to him.

"Tomoyo-chan makes really beautiful dresses don't you agree?" The sudden noise startled Syaoran three-feet into the air. The blonde mage just giggled as the boy blushed and stammered, having been caught in the act of admiring Sakura. "But of course, the beautiful model is the one who makes the the look. Don't forget to tell Sakura that next time." He winked whilst Syaoran nodded in more than embarrassment. Truth be told he'd let Sakura know exactly that, not that anyone else needed to be privy to this fact of course - and especially _not _the reaction he got from her in return.

Fai plucked the camera from Syaoran's hand with a conspiratorial grin, asking if he could borrow it for the night. Syaoran did not dare say no to him. That man could and would use every dirt he had on the boy to blackmail him for possession of the device. He'd rather not be on the receiving end of the prank stick tonight. On that same note, Syaoran better put on his earmuffs before bed because whenever Fai had the camera, there would be loud angry yells coming from Kurogane, followed by things crashing left right and centre. He was definitely not losing sleep over _that_.

True enough a couple of hours later he heard the lamp crashed next door accompanied by threats and giggles. Syaoran just pulled his pillow closer, Hoping that Fai could fix the place up with magic before they all get kicked out again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Notes at the end.**

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><p>"Welcome to Piffle Princess Headquarters!" The gaggle of usher girls chanted as confetti rained around the quartet. "Oooooh Kurogane-san, Fai-san, Syaoran-san… Welcome back!" They cheerfully greeted, followed by Fai posing and taking photos with the cheer squad. It took Kurogane some rough pulling and an even rougher kiss to get the blonde Mage away from the giggling girls. Smugly Fai followed the now red-faced ninja along the building's foyer, flanked by massive screens showing Piffle's latest products, followed by a rather large projection of their heated kiss on the very last screen, a fact that the mage had no qualms of pointing out loud. As soon as they were inside the elevator, Syaoran just used his forehead to bash the floor number in a substitute of a head desk, in time with Mokona's distressed yelps. Fai decided to cut him some slack and not steal the camera tonight in fear of more damage to the boy's mind.<p>

They hadn't taken two steps outside of the elevator when Tomoyo came barrelling towards them with the biggest grin on her face.

"Ahh everyone, I've missed you so much! How long had it been? Are you hungry? Has Sakura tried on the clothes I made last time?" Red light blinked and bounced incessantly in Syaoran's field of vision, pulling back to show the excited raven haired girl with her ever-present video recorder attached and armed in her hand.

"Hello Tomoyo, it's been two-hundred and ninety-six days, probably just a bit thirsty, and yes Fai took some photos of Sakura with your new dress" Syaoran thought that it was impossible for Tomoyo to get even more excited, but at the mention of Sakura's photos Tomoyo went into full hysterics.

"Show me! Show me! Kyaaaaaaa~!" Her excited exclamations became increasingly more high-pitched as Syaoran deftly handed her the camera. The screen casted colours across her face and he thought her smile could almost rival those of Sakura's—earnest and pure. To Fai's credit, he took over Syaoran's role with a wink and a wave, pointing him towards the table where Kurogane and Mokona's were inhaling some sandwiches. Nodding, he made his way over, leaving the two Sakura fans to chatter away in the background. The last thing he heard was the blonde's soft voice regaling Tomoyo about how cute Sakura-chan had looked and how the wind blew through her cinnamon hair and how adorable the little wings on her hats were.

He managed to catch bits and bobs of the other two's conversation from time to time, something about billboards and more outfits and peaches before the talk turned technological. Syaoran was an archaeologist and he loved ancient and magical machinery, but for the love of Clow Reed he couldn't get into the working of things more advance than physical machineries. Engines, mechanical contraptions and clockworks he could deal with, but the finer details of tiny electronic devices were too convoluted to him. Besides, often similar results could be achieved with relatively small magic instead so he never felt the need to delve into the impractical discipline. The group's resident mage seems to have found his niche though, pouring over the electronical books like moth to a flame. Syaoran made a mental note to ask Fai about the connection between Celesian magic and modern technology for documentation.

They parted ways with a still gleaming Tomoyo for the night, the girl in question already spouting off clothing cuts and shapes and fabric types to be made for her beloved Sakura. Sneakily, the fashion forward mage suggested she makes clothes for the rest of them too so they can feature as Sakura's posse for the next photoshoot and the girl could positively explode from all the wonderful thought that idea had brought. With a horrified snarl Kurogane vetoed the group outfit idea but Tomoyo promised that she would make his black and scary, just like the expression on his face at the moment. Fai and Mokona burst out laughing while Syaoran took a quick snap of the scowl in question then hid the camera before Kurogane could even look in his direction. He was getting better at these 'candid camera' moments and he was glad his martial arts skills could extend to such innocuous (yet fun) hobby.

The travelling group didn't know how long they would stay in Piffle this time around and this spurred Tomoyo into a frenzy. There were so many things she needed to do! Maintenance on Kurogane's arm, sewing dresses, helping Fai upgrade the camera, making sure the photos are print-ready to the highest quality… and did she mention sewing dresses? She made Mokona promise under threat of no Piffle souffles to not leave until her outfits were ready. The white puff hugged her ears close with a shriek of horror and had no choice but to agree insofar as she wouldn't use her power to spirit them away without full prior notice to Tomoyo.

As soon as the elevator door closed Kurogane leaned against the wall and looked pointedly at Fai, "You are lucky this Tomoyo is fixated on Sakura. If we ever go past Tomoyo-hime again, you'll be the one swaddled in so much fabric you won't even be able to breathe."

Fai's smirk was decidedly devilish as he leaned closer to the ninja's ear. "Worried about me, Kuro-sama? I'm sure that Tomoyo-hime will help my blog become even more successful with her traditional clothes expertise. Plus..." he danced his fingertips across Kurogane's jacket zip, "I wouldn't mind if she swaddled me in more fabric like the last one—it did get such a _positive_ reaction from Kuro-horny!" He punctuated his innuendo with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

"Why, you—!"

Syaoran coughed uncomfortably. He was not a stranger to these… Public Displays of Affections (though the Affections part is still in great contention amongst witnesses) but could they just _not_ do it in an enclosed space while he was _still_ in it? The Crown Prince and the Priest had way more tact than these two, though it was probably a rather easy feat to master. Syaoran practically ran to their pod and put on his earmuffs again for the night.

It was a good thing that they were staying on the roof of the mechanic shop again. Shougo had been keeping it clean under Tomoyo's orders especially for them. Like a good guest, Syaoran had insisted that they pay for the upkeep but the Piffle CEO had declined, it was the least she could do to prepare for Sakura-chan's return, she said, and the boy had almost started crying in gratitude in her office. It was one of Syaoran's favourite lodgings, though he always felt a pang of loneliness whenever he spotted one of his mother's touches that's been left in one of the rooms—pink vases, her commemorative Dragonfly Race Winner's photo, a pair of winged yellow and black stuffed animals tucked neatly in the armchair—they all reminded him of his childhood home, with his mother's penchant of making the decorations herself. He himself had exact replicas of the two soft toys and wondered if they were now kept at Kimihiro's shop.

A couple of days later as Syaoran was doing his customary morning stretches, he was suddenly greeted by a giant floating photo of Sakura—the one that Fai took—along with the words "Wings~! New Clothing Line by Piffle Princess. Launching Soon." He smiled broadly at the holographic billboard, Sakura's smile always had that contagious effect on him. Really this camera had been nothing but a boon for Syaoran, even when he was feeling down he could just look at her pictures and feel instantly better. Without losing a beat he opened the window fully and took a snap of the floating advertisement. He could just imagine Sakura's blushing face when he shows her the photo. She would be embarrassed beyond belief, but he thinks she'd be proud too. _And_, the back of his mind supplied, _you are also proud of her._

Feeling his 'Sakura-battery', as Mokona had affectionately called it, recharged, he scooped up a surprised Mokona who just entered the living room, dashed out the door and jumped into his fliers—the one his father had used in the Dragonfly Race—and took off into the sky, flying alongside the billboard and laughing without a care. Soel squealed and snapped some photos, trying not to fall off as Syaoran cartwheeled the vehicle through the air.

Fai's flier was back on the landing pad as they returned, Syaoran noted, his chest still brimming with happiness. As if the stars continued to align for him that day, the delicious smell of pancakes wafted through the circular windows and hit the duo as they neatly park their own flier in the empty spot between Fai's and Kurogane's. Without missing a beat Mokona immediately made a mad dash to the kitchen with Syaoran chasing behind, plopping down at the bar stools with all the eagerness of hungry puppies.

Looking bright and sunny in his white shirt and blue vest, the resident magician hummed and sang as he expertly flipped pancakes on the hot plate. He stopped momentarily to set large glasses of juice down in front of Mokona and Syaoran, the latter still eyeing the bubbling batter hungrily. Long ago he'd figured out that food from different worlds may look the same but tasted completely different. Piffle pancakes tasted more like the omelettes in Hong Kong, savoury, though here they still slathered it with sweet syrup upon serving like most common pancakes recipes. They weren't made with milk and flour either, but instead with eggs, some kind of mashed vegetable and cream. His gaze was finally interrupted though when in front of him Fai ceremoniously plopped down a big bowl of red... raspberries?

"Unlike 99% of other worlds' raspberries, these are actually savoury believe it or not." Fai popped one in his mouth as he chuckled at Syaoran's puzzled face. The boy gingerly grabbed one and rolled it in his fingers, making notes of the outer texture and consistency. It _felt _like a run-of-the-mill raspberry but then again… He tasted it, his expression changing from confusion to contemplation and then back again, finally settling on thoughtful as he mentally catalogued the fruit's uniqueness amongst his academic discoveries.

"Syaoran has such a cute confused expression, ne?" Fai's light teasing came from the other side of the camera lens. His cheeks coloured slightly before he swallowed the raspberry proper.

"It's... strange. My brain is telling me raspberries are sweet but my tongue is telling me otherwise. This is a very interesting discrepancy. All of the apples and oranges we've eaten had been in the spectrum of sweet and sour but _never_ savoury. Or we may have just not had one that's complete opposite of the others, like these raspberries here. So far even tomatoes have not been savoury and that's the closest you can get to vegetables." He took a photo of the red fruits for his own archive before grabbing another one and chewed it in a studious manner, wanting to know more about what made it different.

"Yours truly found them in the shop this morning and thought that a new recipe was in order. Apparently it's seasonal and we haven't been here in autumn before. I'm hoping the savoury addition will make Daddy even more accepting of Mummy's pancakes." Fai added with a wink.

"Fai, Fai, Mokona can't wait to have some! Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

"Shouldn't be long now, the first batch is almost cooked. Would you like some whipped cream with that too, Mokona?"

"On the side please!" Mokona yelled whilst waving her cutleries eagerly. Fai hummed in acknowledgement before turning back to tend the fantastic smelling food. "Nee, Syaoran, did you see Sakura-chan's photos? We have to show it to her when we return, she's going to be a famous model someday!" Syaoran nodded and the conversation segued into the kind of clothes that Tomoyo would feature on her range. Cute things were the first ones to pop into Syaoran's mind but Mokona suggested 'sexy lolita' and the boy's mind headed straight into the gutter. The nearby mage laughed and teased him about becoming an adult as he served the freshly cooked breakfast. He barely registered the flash of Mokona taking a food selfie as his blood slowly came back up from a place much further South than his brain.

"Fai, Fai, these are really good! You're a genius with the raspberries! Even big doggy will like this one, I'm sure!"

"Who are you calling doggy, pork bun?" Speak of the devil and he shall appear, yawning widely. Instead of snatching Mokona up as he usually does, Kurogane sauntered to the fridge instead to have a big gulp of cold water. When he turned, Syaoran could see the tiredness under his eyes.

"Did you not sleep well, Kurogane-san?" He asked in a concerned voice between mouthfuls of his own pancakes. The ninja just glared lethargically at Fai, who stepped closer with a too-bright twinkle in his eyes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Good morning to you too, Kuro-grump." The taller man grunted but did not pull away, his right hand reflexively cupped Fai's elbow in a practiced move, as if he'd done this a million times before. An image of his own parents flashed in Syaoran's mind as he watched the display. So many times his mother would meet them during training and father would stop to give her a quick peck, a hug and _the look_ before returning back to teaching. The gesture always caused a warm feeling to bloom in his chest. Perhaps those effortless habits were the mark of true love, he mused. Would he one day be able to do the same thing with Sakura? Syaoran wanted to know, but he refused to pry his father's memory. Whatever happened between him and mother were private and he refused to consciously go close to that part of his soul. If only he was there to ask… Suddenly he felt a little bit ashamed, Kurogane and Fai had tried their hardest to be the parental figures in his life, there shouldn't be anything that he can't ask them about.

When he next looked up the two men were locked in an embrace, eyes closed, foreheads resting together. Flustered, he turned to Mokona who winked knowingly, pulling him into a conversation about the prospect of creating a recipe compilation book now that she'd gathered more than a hundred recipes. Syaoran turned the camera on and flicked through Mokona's photos, helping her sort out the food into categories. Some worlds loved to prepare feasts for meals and had more recipes than others. Some prefers to have bland food but fantastic desserts, and some worlds only had game meat that they had to hunt and roasted, though Fai was getting much better with the basting. There were also curious assortments of mostly alcoholic mixed drinks that ranged from dark amber to rainbow—thanks to Fai—which had accompanied most of their meals. In all they counted two-hundred and forty-two food and sixty-three drinks recipes.

"Any recipe in there for sweet white pork bun?" Kurogane interrupted, though his usually threatening voice was muffled by the spoonfuls of pancakes he was currently munching. The fact that his plate was covered in a deep layer of raspberries didn't help either. Sensing an opportunity for retaliation, Mokona lunged to spear a raspberry from the Ninja's plate but was thwarted when Fai dropped a charred pancake (the way Kurogane liked his) on top of the red monstrosity. She came back to her seat with her consolation prize instead, followed by Kurogane's mocking chuckle.

The week after the first started relatively peacefully, aside from the click clacking of computer keys in the living room where Syaoran and Mokona poured over the beginning stages of the recipe book. 'Shipwreck' was the Fai's adjective of choice when describing the duo's endeavour. For the first few days the room looked like a warzone - there were printed photos everywhere, covering almost every millimetre of the area. This gradually got neater as Syaoran grouped the photos together in some sort of categorical order. Mokona had printed multiple copies of each photo, so they could rearrange it into a few different book types. To Syaoran's irritation, Fai would sometimes barge in and pretend like he was a cat and swiped the stacked papers every which way. Add a bored Mokona to the equation (really this was starting to feel like _Syaoran's_ book) and soon all of the papers had been thrown out of order. Three days after the first incident Syaoran finally pleaded with Kurogane to help him out, which the older man accepted with a grin and a quick ruffle of the brunette's hair. The partners in crime denied any wrongdoing, but Syaoran had hard evidence of them in the action—they even posed for the photo in question—and the responsible ninja had carted the irresponsible blonde away like a sack of potatoes with a stern smack on the ass.

Of course this was what Fai had planned all along, judging from the gleeful face he sported the next day and his continued insistence on annoying Syaoran. In the end it was the teen who moved their battle station to his own bedroom and locked out his traveling proxy-mother after being treated to daily reorganisation of the photos. The only saving grace in this whole setup, Syaoran thought, was the giant billboard of Sakura that seemed to be permanently parked outside of his bedroom window. With a smile he resolved to make sure to thank Tomoyo for that and got straight back into his book planning.

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><p><strong>AN: **Chapter 2 oh my gosh! This started as a crack!headcanon talk and it just sprung a life of its own. I do have a few more chapters planned so do keep a lookout for them. Thank you all who have read & liked this story! I plan to keep this one T, and will have an Omake version that is rated higher. I mean, aren't you all wondering WHY Kurogane is so tired? _*wink wink*_


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